Field of the Disclosure
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to performing a telescopic tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) discovery method based on a TDLS communication failure.
Description of Related Art
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) networks are widely deployed and used. Other examples of such multiple-access systems may include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or access points (APs), each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple mobile devices or stations (STAs), for example, in a particular WLAN. APs may communicate with STAs on downstream and upstream links. Each AP has a coverage range, which may be referred to as the coverage area of the cell. The STAs may also communicate with one another via direct communication links, such as through a TDLS. A TDLS connection may enable two STAs to directly communicate with one another instead of routing data through the AP, which may increase network capacity. A TDLS may additionally enable the two STAs to operate at higher rates that are supported by the STAs but not the AP.
After establishing a TDLS connection, a first STA and a second STA may begin direct communications. At some point in time, the second STA may exit TDLS communication range and the first STA may determine that the TDLS communication link has failed. The first STA may begin transmitting TDLS discovery requests to determine if the second STA has returned within range of the TDLS connection. The second STA may respond with a TDLS discovery response if it receives the TDLS discovery request so that TDLS communications may resume. In one approach, the first STA may transmit a maximum number of discovery requests. If no discovery response is received, the first STA may discontinue transmitting discovery requests. However, in this approach, the first STA and the second STA may fail to re-establish the TDLS connection even after the second STA returns within range. In a second approach, the first STA may indefinitely transmit discovery requests until a discovery response is received. In this approach, the first STA may experience significant power loss until the second STA returns within range.